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2011 Official Boxing Thread: 12/30 Jermain Taylor + Andre Dirrell return on ShoBox.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
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This +%#% is getting out of hand now...
Spoiler [+]
The latest round of negotiations for the potential megafight between welterweight champions Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are over before they have even begun.
Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer both told ESPN.com Monday that they were notified that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank was not interested in coming to the table.
“
In my opinion, you have three cowards -- Bob Arum, (Pacquiao trainer) Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao.
Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer both told ESPN.com Monday that they were notified that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank was not interested in coming to the table.
“
In my opinion, you have three cowards -- Bob Arum, (Pacquiao trainer) Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao.
This +%#% is getting out of hand now...
Spoiler [+]
The latest round of negotiations for the potential megafight between welterweight champions Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are over before they have even begun.
Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer both told ESPN.com Monday that they were notified that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank was not interested in coming to the table.
“
In my opinion, you have three cowards -- Bob Arum, (Pacquiao trainer) Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao.
Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer both told ESPN.com Monday that they were notified that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank was not interested in coming to the table.
“
In my opinion, you have three cowards -- Bob Arum, (Pacquiao trainer) Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao.
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EDIT: Beat me to it, Bobby.
So if JMM (finally) gets his W vs. Pac you know damn well it won't end there and we talkin' 'bout a 5th joint. Man...
So if JMM (finally) gets his W vs. Pac you know damn well it won't end there and we talkin' 'bout a 5th joint. Man...
- 15,661
- 4,793
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2008
EDIT: Beat me to it, Bobby.
So if JMM (finally) gets his W vs. Pac you know damn well it won't end there and we talkin' 'bout a 5th joint. Man...
So if JMM (finally) gets his W vs. Pac you know damn well it won't end there and we talkin' 'bout a 5th joint. Man...
- 25,468
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- Sep 1, 2004
that is a joke right?
- 25,468
- 650
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2004
that is a joke right?
- 3,128
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- Nov 18, 2010
hopefully JMM tells him to go %*%+ himself.
- 3,128
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- Nov 18, 2010
hopefully JMM tells him to go %*%+ himself.
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If there's a fourth fight I would't be surprised if JMM finally KO's Manny with a well-timed body shot.
Weekend wrapup.
Spoiler [+]
Saturday at Las Vegas
Manny Pacquiao W12 Juan Manuel Marquez
Welterweight
Retains a welterweight title
Scores: 116-112, 115-113, 114-114
Records: Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs); Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs)
Rafael's remark: So much for the expected Pacquiao rout over his great rival Marquez. A huge betting favorite, Pacquiao, who has been on an incredible roll in recent years, was expected to handle Marquez decisively, mainly because he was moving up to welterweight (well, actually to the 144-pound catch weight maximum) for the second time in his career, and we all know what happened the first time: Floyd Mayweather Jr. bulldozed him over 12 uncompetitive rounds. Marquez is also 38 now and, besides a farcical first-round knockout of a tomato can in July, he had not fought since struggling to a ninth-round knockout of Michael Katsidis in a lightweight title defense last November. But the three-division champion showed once again that he is the consummate Mexican warrior and still one of the very best fighters in the world. He gave Pacquiao, the 32-year-old Filipino icon, everything he could possibly handle. As usual. They have now waged 36 incredibly close rounds over three terrific fights in one of boxing's greatest trilogies. It was fitting that Pacquiao-Marquez III took place in the midst of tributes to the great Joe Frazier, who died earlier in the week and was part of boxing's all-time greatest trilogy with Muhammad Ali.
After three fights between Pacquiao and Marquez there is still no clear-cut winner of any of the bouts, even though Pacquiao is officially ahead 2-0-1 in their rivalry. But he could easily be 0-3 or 1-1-1 or 1-2, whatever. Although Pacquiao got the decision this time, there were numerous writers who scored the fight a draw or for Marquez.
Pacquiao, boxing's only eight-division titleholder, made the fourth defense of his welterweight belt, but it was not easy. Pacquiao lacked snap on his punches, seemed confused at times and once again had a lot of issues dealing with Marquez's supreme counterpunching ability, not to mention his nice right hand and even a jab that is underrated. With a pro-Marquez crowd of 16,368 filling the MGM Grand Garden Arena for another huge night, Marquez controlled many of the early rounds and there seemed to be a sense of an upset in the air. But Pacquiao was aggressive and there were so many close rounds. Shocking right? They both had their moments, although neither man was able to visibly hurt the other, though Pacquiao suffered a cut over his right eye (which required 28 stitches) from an accidental head-butt in the ninth round.
While Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, was telling his man to pick the pace and that it was a close fight, Nacho Beristain, Marquez's Hall of Fame trainer, committed a terrible error in judgment that may have cost his man the fight. He told Marquez in the late going that he was winning, including before the 12th round. Now when you have fought two controversial fights with Pacquiao already and are entering the final round of another obviously close fight, shouldn't Beristain have told Marquez he had to win the round? Better safe than sorry, right? Instead, Beristain made it seem like they had it in the bag. Marquez seemed to play it slightly safe in the championship rounds. Had he really stepped on the gas and cleanly won the 12th round when the fight looked like it was still on the table -- he won the round on one card, but lost on the other two -- he would have at least gotten another draw.
The crowd, which was heavily Mexican, hated the decision, booing lustily for many minutes after it was read. Marquez feels as though he has been robbed three times against Pacquiao by the Las Vegas judges. But, as the counterpuncher, he faces a tough situation because as great as he is, judges often will score in favor of the aggressor and the busier man, which was Pacquiao. According to CompuBox statistics -- which are not gospel, but at least provide some idea of how the fight went -- Pacquiao landed 176 of 578 punches (30 percent) while Marquez connected on 138 of 436 blows (32 percent). So perhaps the edge Pacquiao received from the judges had something do with the fact he threw more and landed more.
Even with his 15th consecutive victory, Pacquiao looked as vulnerable as he has since winning a split decision in the 2008 rematch with Marquez. There was talk of a fourth fight, but it remains to be seen if Pacquiao wants to tangle with him again and Marquez, so frustrated, talked of possible retirement. There is also the specter of Mayweather, who says he will fight May 5 and his representative said he wants to make the long-awaited, massive money fight with Pacquiao. That is the way they should go. That is the fight boxing has needed for a long time. Enough is enough. It's time to make that fight before one of them loses, which Pacquiao almost did. And if you are Mayweather, you have to be licking your chops after seeing how bad Pacquiao looked compared to the way he usually looks.
If you missed the fight -- and if you're a boxing fan you shouldn't have -- HBO will replay it on Saturday's edition of "Boxing After Dark" (10:30 p.m. ET/PT) along with coverage of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. making the first defense of his paper middleweight belt against Peter Manfredo Jr. in Houston.
Timothy Bradley Jr. TKO8 Joel Casamayor
Junior welterweight
Retains a junior welterweight title
Records: Bradley Jr. (28-0, 12 KOs); Casamayor (38-6-1, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remark: On paper the fight stunk and in the ring it stunk. Top Rank did not do the newly signed Bradley, 28, of Palm Springs, Calif., any favors by matching him with the completely shot Casamayor, who fouls more than he punches. The 40-year-old 1992 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who now lives in Miami was once a top fighter. But the former junior lightweight and lightweight champion could barely climb up the ring stairs without wobbling. All he could resort to was trying to head-butt, elbow and foul Bradley, who was given the co-featured slot on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III HBO PPV card as a way to raise his profile and showcase him for a possible fight with Pacquiao.
Although Bradley did what he had to do in wiping out Casamayor, it was not the kind of fight or performance that will have anyone on the planet demanding to see him fight Pacquiao. In his first fight since January's win (but terrible fight) against Devon Alexander, Bradley did look sharp even as Casamayor fouled repeatedly, finally losing a point from referee Vic Drakulich for head-butting in the fourth round. As Bradley -- who was vastly overpaid with a purse of $1.025 million to fight a corpse -- proclaimed after the fight, this was easy work. He dropped Casamayor -- who struggled to make weight, losing some 30 pounds during his training camp -- in the fifth, sixth and eighth rounds. Finally, after Casamayor went down in the eighth from a wicked body shot, trainer Miguel Diaz correctly climbed onto the ring apron to throw in the towel. He saved his fighter from a worse beating and the viewers from four more rounds of this travesty. Bradley racked up his sixth defense (although not all of the same belt because he has unified twice and been stripped) and while he probably won't get Pacquiao next, he is an excellent fighter who fits in with anyone at junior welterweight -- other than probably unified titlist Amir Khan, whom he blatantly ducked over the summer after calling him out and getting a 50-50 offer.
Casamayor, 2-3 in his past five fights with the wins against D-level opposition, should never fight again. If he does, just make sure no television camera is around.
Mike Alvarado TKO10 Breidis Prescott
Junior welterweight
Records: Alvarado (32-0, 23 KOs); Prescott (24-4, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Talk about drama. Alvarado, 31, of Denver, delivered it and branded himself must-see TV. He was taking a big step up in competition against Prescott, 28, a native of Colombia based in Miami, who is best known for his massive first-round knockout win over Amir Khan in a 2008 lightweight fight. For most of the fight, it looked like Top Rank had made a big mistake by matching Alvarado with Prescott, who was moving, punching and basically doing as he pleased against Alvarado. Prescott turned Alvarado's face into a bloody, disgusting mess early on. He had swelling, cuts, bruises and blood pouring out of, well, everywhere. Trailing on all three scorecards going into the final round (87-84 twice and 86-85), Alvarado, who somehow still had energy, scored a dramatic knockout against the fading Prescott. He was on the attack in the 10th round, but finally broke through when he sent Prescott staggering from an uppercut, and referee Jay Nady stopped it at 1 minute, 53 seconds. Alvarado showed he knows how to close the show as he landed 27 of 38 power shots in the 10th round, according to CompuBox statistics. It was a great comeback in a very interesting fight. Although it was not easy, Alvarado passed an important test and did it in memorable fashion. Prescott, a 140-pound gatekeeper, lost his second fight in a row, including a close decision to Paul McCloskey in Northern Ireland in a September title eliminator.
Juan Carlos Burgos W10 Luis Cruz
Junior lightweight
Scores: 98-92, 97-93, 95-95
Records: Burgos (28-1, 19 KOs); Cruz (19-1, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Top Rank signed Cruz, 26, earlier this year to a co-promotional deal with Miguel Cotto's company and had high hopes for the Puerto Rican prospect. As soon as he was signed, Top Rank's Bob Arum promised him this coveted slot on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III HBO PPV undercard. Cruz got the spot and failed to make the most of it in a mild upset loss to Burgos, 23, of Mexico. Although the official result was a majority decision, there is no way Cruz deserved even a draw on one card. This was all Burgos, who was the harder puncher and more aggressive. He attacked Cruz's body and landed enough shots to swell his right eye. It was a hard-hitting fight, but Burgos seemed in control the whole way, including rocking Cruz in the ninth round. Cruz blamed the loss on the fact he was rushed to the ring before he was able to warm up properly. Burgos, who was moving up in weight, won his third fight in a row since dropping a competitive decision to Hozumi Hasegawa in featherweight title bout in Japan last November.
Jose Benavidez Jr. W6 Sammy Santana
Junior welterweight
Scores: 60-50 (three times)
Records: Benavidez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs); Santana (4-5-2, 0 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Benavidez, 19, of Phoenix, is perhaps Top Rank's most significant young prospect. He is being brought along slowly and steadily, but has gobs of potential. The former amateur standout turned pro at 17 (with special permission granted by Nevada officials because of his youth) rather than pursue a medal in the 2012 Olympics. As a pro, he has looked very good so far. He has size, power and skills, which he put to use against Puerto Rico's Santana, 26, who showed a wonderful feistiness even though he was utterly outgunned. Benavidez won every moment of the fight, dropping Santana twice in the first round, with a body shot in the second round and again in the fourth round. But Santana never gave up. He actually tried to go after Benavidez, despite a size disadvantage and no prayer. But it seemed like he thought he could win and he gave it everything he had.
Saturday at Manchester, England
Tyson Fury TKO3 Neven Pajkic
Heavyweight
Retains Commonwealth heavyweight title
Records: Fury (17-0, 12 KOs); Pajkic (16-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Fury does not look like he's going to be a serious contender, but he makes exciting fights and this was another one. He and Pajkic thrilled the fans with an exciting shootout despite the poor stoppage by referee Phil Edwards. Fury, 23, of England, is 6-foot-9, 257 pounds and has gotten way more hype than he deserves, but at least delivers entertaining matches, something we need more of in the heavyweight division. For the third fight in a row, Fury weathered difficult moments en route to a win.
Dereck Chisora hurt him in their July fight and Nicolai Firtha had him in trouble in September. And this time it was Pajkic, 34, a native of Bosnia living in Canada, who had him in trouble. Although he was at a serious size disadvantage (6-3, 232 pounds), Pajkic dropped Fury with right hand on the chin in the second round. Fury has been in trouble before, but this was the first time he has been knocked down. He weathered the crisis and rallied in the third round. He dropped Pajkic with a right hand after softening up with several hard shots. Then Fury had him wobbly again before knocking him with another right hand. But when Fury landed an uppercut after the fight resumed, Edwards immediately jumped in and stopped it at 2 minutes, 43 seconds. Pajkic wildly protested and it is hard to disagree. Lame stoppage.
On the undercard, England's Chris Eubank Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), the son of the former super middleweight titlist, made his professional debut and stopped Lithuania's Kirilas Psonko (8-16-1, 7 KOs) at 1 minute, 46 seconds of the fourth round in a scheduled six-rounder.
Friday at El Paso, Texas
Austin Trout TKO6 Frank LoPorto
Junior middleweight
Retains a junior middleweight title
Records: Trout (24-0, 14 KOs); LoPorto (15-5-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remark: This was all about Trout gaining some much-needed American television exposure, which is what he got on Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation." Trout is a good fighter to be sure, but his title is trash. It's one of those bogus WBA "regular" belts in a division where Miguel Cotto also is the so-called "super" titleholder. Trout, 26, of Las Cruces, N.M., won the belt, however, in February in Mexico when he routed Rigoberto Alvarez (the older brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez). Then Trout returned to Mexico for a June defense against David Lopez, whom he also easily outpointed. Those fights were not on American television, but Showtime gave him a platform, even if he was matched very softly against LoPorto, 33, of Australia. It appeared as though Trout's night of exposure might end quickly when he dropped LoPorto with a right hand in the first round, in which he battered him. LoPorto survived and took a beating. He showed heart and little else. Trout, a 2004 U.S. Olympic alternate, who was born in El Paso and had tremendous crowd support, was faster and a better puncher. He just took LoPorto apart until referee Rafael Ramos showed mercy and stopped the annihilation at 2 minutes, 32 seconds of the sixth round. So Trout got his easy showcase fight on television. He fights in a 154-pound division with several quality opponents. Now it's time for him to fight one of them and for the networks to make it happen, since few are rushing to face the relatively unknown and dangerous Trout, who is a fresh face in a rich division.
Michael Oliveira W-DQ8 Xavier Tolliver
Middleweight
Records: Oliveira (16-0, 12 KOs); Tolliver (23-8, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Oliveira, 21, a Brazilian based in Miami, has an action style, probably the reason he's called "The Brazilian Rocky." He found himself facing Tolliver, a 31-year-old journeyman from College Park, Ga., after at least two other opponents dropped out. He proved no match for Oliveira, who was aggressive throughout the fight. Tolliver tried to rough him up in the opening round, but Oliveira showed poise and dealt with a couple of rocky moments. Oliveira got his combinations working and dominated. Tolliver, who took the fight on short notice, was not in the best shape and seemed to try to catch a breather by laying on the ropes. But Oliveira just used that a chance for target practice, bloodying Tolliver's lip in the seventh round. Referee Robert Chapa docked a point from Tolliver for a head-butt in the fifth round and when he ordered a break in the eighth round, Tolliver hit Oliveira with a right hand on the break. Although Chapa had not previously issued a warning for the foul, he disqualified Tolliver at 1 minute, 31 seconds. It was academic because Oliveira was going to win the fight.
Friday at Las Vegas
Diego Magdaleno W10 Emmanuel Lucero
Junior lightweight
Scores: 100-89, 100-88, 100-87
Records: Magdaleno (21-0, 7 KOs); Lucero (26-8-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Magdaleno, 24, was fighting in front of his hometown crowd and never gave them a moment of angst as he rolled through Mexico's Lucero, 34, who was a fringe contender at junior featherweight back in the early '00s. In his most notable fight, Lucero got knocked out in the third round by a young Manny Pacquiao defending his 122-pound title in 2003. But Lucero is beyond faded at this point and the scores showed it as Magdaleno pitched the shutout in the main event of "Top Rank Live." Magdaleno did as he pleased. He pumped the jab, beat Lucero's body, busted open a cut on the bridge of his nose and generally smacked him around, including getting credit for a seventh-round knockdown when he landed a combination that sent Lucero into the ropes, which prevented him from hitting the canvas. Lucero dropped to 3-5 in his past eight fights dating to 2007, after which he did not fight for three years.
Mercito Gesta W10 Ricardo Dominguez
Lightweight
Scores: 99-91, 98-92, 97-92
Records: Gesta (24-0-1, 12 KOs); Dominguez (34-7-2, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remark: The Philippines' Gesta, 23, who lives in San Diego, rolled to an easy win in a ho-hum fight against a decent step up in competition. Gesta has no issues with the slower, less skilled Dominguez, 26, of Mexico. While Dominguez tried to make it a brawl, Gesta controlled him with his jab and displayed quality counterpunching ability. In the third round, Gesta landed a nice right hand and scored a knockdown when Dominguez put his right glove on the mat to steady himself. Dominguez dropped to 3-3 in his past six fights, including losses in two lightweight title bouts, decisions to Humberto Soto in May 2010 and to Miguel Vazquez last November. Gesta has ability and figures to get a notable fight before too long.
Manny Pacquiao W12 Juan Manuel Marquez
Welterweight
Retains a welterweight title
Scores: 116-112, 115-113, 114-114
Records: Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs); Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs)
Rafael's remark: So much for the expected Pacquiao rout over his great rival Marquez. A huge betting favorite, Pacquiao, who has been on an incredible roll in recent years, was expected to handle Marquez decisively, mainly because he was moving up to welterweight (well, actually to the 144-pound catch weight maximum) for the second time in his career, and we all know what happened the first time: Floyd Mayweather Jr. bulldozed him over 12 uncompetitive rounds. Marquez is also 38 now and, besides a farcical first-round knockout of a tomato can in July, he had not fought since struggling to a ninth-round knockout of Michael Katsidis in a lightweight title defense last November. But the three-division champion showed once again that he is the consummate Mexican warrior and still one of the very best fighters in the world. He gave Pacquiao, the 32-year-old Filipino icon, everything he could possibly handle. As usual. They have now waged 36 incredibly close rounds over three terrific fights in one of boxing's greatest trilogies. It was fitting that Pacquiao-Marquez III took place in the midst of tributes to the great Joe Frazier, who died earlier in the week and was part of boxing's all-time greatest trilogy with Muhammad Ali.
After three fights between Pacquiao and Marquez there is still no clear-cut winner of any of the bouts, even though Pacquiao is officially ahead 2-0-1 in their rivalry. But he could easily be 0-3 or 1-1-1 or 1-2, whatever. Although Pacquiao got the decision this time, there were numerous writers who scored the fight a draw or for Marquez.
Pacquiao, boxing's only eight-division titleholder, made the fourth defense of his welterweight belt, but it was not easy. Pacquiao lacked snap on his punches, seemed confused at times and once again had a lot of issues dealing with Marquez's supreme counterpunching ability, not to mention his nice right hand and even a jab that is underrated. With a pro-Marquez crowd of 16,368 filling the MGM Grand Garden Arena for another huge night, Marquez controlled many of the early rounds and there seemed to be a sense of an upset in the air. But Pacquiao was aggressive and there were so many close rounds. Shocking right? They both had their moments, although neither man was able to visibly hurt the other, though Pacquiao suffered a cut over his right eye (which required 28 stitches) from an accidental head-butt in the ninth round.
While Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, was telling his man to pick the pace and that it was a close fight, Nacho Beristain, Marquez's Hall of Fame trainer, committed a terrible error in judgment that may have cost his man the fight. He told Marquez in the late going that he was winning, including before the 12th round. Now when you have fought two controversial fights with Pacquiao already and are entering the final round of another obviously close fight, shouldn't Beristain have told Marquez he had to win the round? Better safe than sorry, right? Instead, Beristain made it seem like they had it in the bag. Marquez seemed to play it slightly safe in the championship rounds. Had he really stepped on the gas and cleanly won the 12th round when the fight looked like it was still on the table -- he won the round on one card, but lost on the other two -- he would have at least gotten another draw.
The crowd, which was heavily Mexican, hated the decision, booing lustily for many minutes after it was read. Marquez feels as though he has been robbed three times against Pacquiao by the Las Vegas judges. But, as the counterpuncher, he faces a tough situation because as great as he is, judges often will score in favor of the aggressor and the busier man, which was Pacquiao. According to CompuBox statistics -- which are not gospel, but at least provide some idea of how the fight went -- Pacquiao landed 176 of 578 punches (30 percent) while Marquez connected on 138 of 436 blows (32 percent). So perhaps the edge Pacquiao received from the judges had something do with the fact he threw more and landed more.
Even with his 15th consecutive victory, Pacquiao looked as vulnerable as he has since winning a split decision in the 2008 rematch with Marquez. There was talk of a fourth fight, but it remains to be seen if Pacquiao wants to tangle with him again and Marquez, so frustrated, talked of possible retirement. There is also the specter of Mayweather, who says he will fight May 5 and his representative said he wants to make the long-awaited, massive money fight with Pacquiao. That is the way they should go. That is the fight boxing has needed for a long time. Enough is enough. It's time to make that fight before one of them loses, which Pacquiao almost did. And if you are Mayweather, you have to be licking your chops after seeing how bad Pacquiao looked compared to the way he usually looks.
If you missed the fight -- and if you're a boxing fan you shouldn't have -- HBO will replay it on Saturday's edition of "Boxing After Dark" (10:30 p.m. ET/PT) along with coverage of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. making the first defense of his paper middleweight belt against Peter Manfredo Jr. in Houston.
Timothy Bradley Jr. TKO8 Joel Casamayor
Junior welterweight
Retains a junior welterweight title
Records: Bradley Jr. (28-0, 12 KOs); Casamayor (38-6-1, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remark: On paper the fight stunk and in the ring it stunk. Top Rank did not do the newly signed Bradley, 28, of Palm Springs, Calif., any favors by matching him with the completely shot Casamayor, who fouls more than he punches. The 40-year-old 1992 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who now lives in Miami was once a top fighter. But the former junior lightweight and lightweight champion could barely climb up the ring stairs without wobbling. All he could resort to was trying to head-butt, elbow and foul Bradley, who was given the co-featured slot on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III HBO PPV card as a way to raise his profile and showcase him for a possible fight with Pacquiao.
Although Bradley did what he had to do in wiping out Casamayor, it was not the kind of fight or performance that will have anyone on the planet demanding to see him fight Pacquiao. In his first fight since January's win (but terrible fight) against Devon Alexander, Bradley did look sharp even as Casamayor fouled repeatedly, finally losing a point from referee Vic Drakulich for head-butting in the fourth round. As Bradley -- who was vastly overpaid with a purse of $1.025 million to fight a corpse -- proclaimed after the fight, this was easy work. He dropped Casamayor -- who struggled to make weight, losing some 30 pounds during his training camp -- in the fifth, sixth and eighth rounds. Finally, after Casamayor went down in the eighth from a wicked body shot, trainer Miguel Diaz correctly climbed onto the ring apron to throw in the towel. He saved his fighter from a worse beating and the viewers from four more rounds of this travesty. Bradley racked up his sixth defense (although not all of the same belt because he has unified twice and been stripped) and while he probably won't get Pacquiao next, he is an excellent fighter who fits in with anyone at junior welterweight -- other than probably unified titlist Amir Khan, whom he blatantly ducked over the summer after calling him out and getting a 50-50 offer.
Casamayor, 2-3 in his past five fights with the wins against D-level opposition, should never fight again. If he does, just make sure no television camera is around.
Mike Alvarado TKO10 Breidis Prescott
Junior welterweight
Records: Alvarado (32-0, 23 KOs); Prescott (24-4, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Talk about drama. Alvarado, 31, of Denver, delivered it and branded himself must-see TV. He was taking a big step up in competition against Prescott, 28, a native of Colombia based in Miami, who is best known for his massive first-round knockout win over Amir Khan in a 2008 lightweight fight. For most of the fight, it looked like Top Rank had made a big mistake by matching Alvarado with Prescott, who was moving, punching and basically doing as he pleased against Alvarado. Prescott turned Alvarado's face into a bloody, disgusting mess early on. He had swelling, cuts, bruises and blood pouring out of, well, everywhere. Trailing on all three scorecards going into the final round (87-84 twice and 86-85), Alvarado, who somehow still had energy, scored a dramatic knockout against the fading Prescott. He was on the attack in the 10th round, but finally broke through when he sent Prescott staggering from an uppercut, and referee Jay Nady stopped it at 1 minute, 53 seconds. Alvarado showed he knows how to close the show as he landed 27 of 38 power shots in the 10th round, according to CompuBox statistics. It was a great comeback in a very interesting fight. Although it was not easy, Alvarado passed an important test and did it in memorable fashion. Prescott, a 140-pound gatekeeper, lost his second fight in a row, including a close decision to Paul McCloskey in Northern Ireland in a September title eliminator.
Juan Carlos Burgos W10 Luis Cruz
Junior lightweight
Scores: 98-92, 97-93, 95-95
Records: Burgos (28-1, 19 KOs); Cruz (19-1, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Top Rank signed Cruz, 26, earlier this year to a co-promotional deal with Miguel Cotto's company and had high hopes for the Puerto Rican prospect. As soon as he was signed, Top Rank's Bob Arum promised him this coveted slot on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III HBO PPV undercard. Cruz got the spot and failed to make the most of it in a mild upset loss to Burgos, 23, of Mexico. Although the official result was a majority decision, there is no way Cruz deserved even a draw on one card. This was all Burgos, who was the harder puncher and more aggressive. He attacked Cruz's body and landed enough shots to swell his right eye. It was a hard-hitting fight, but Burgos seemed in control the whole way, including rocking Cruz in the ninth round. Cruz blamed the loss on the fact he was rushed to the ring before he was able to warm up properly. Burgos, who was moving up in weight, won his third fight in a row since dropping a competitive decision to Hozumi Hasegawa in featherweight title bout in Japan last November.
Jose Benavidez Jr. W6 Sammy Santana
Junior welterweight
Scores: 60-50 (three times)
Records: Benavidez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs); Santana (4-5-2, 0 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Benavidez, 19, of Phoenix, is perhaps Top Rank's most significant young prospect. He is being brought along slowly and steadily, but has gobs of potential. The former amateur standout turned pro at 17 (with special permission granted by Nevada officials because of his youth) rather than pursue a medal in the 2012 Olympics. As a pro, he has looked very good so far. He has size, power and skills, which he put to use against Puerto Rico's Santana, 26, who showed a wonderful feistiness even though he was utterly outgunned. Benavidez won every moment of the fight, dropping Santana twice in the first round, with a body shot in the second round and again in the fourth round. But Santana never gave up. He actually tried to go after Benavidez, despite a size disadvantage and no prayer. But it seemed like he thought he could win and he gave it everything he had.
Saturday at Manchester, England
Tyson Fury TKO3 Neven Pajkic
Heavyweight
Retains Commonwealth heavyweight title
Records: Fury (17-0, 12 KOs); Pajkic (16-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Fury does not look like he's going to be a serious contender, but he makes exciting fights and this was another one. He and Pajkic thrilled the fans with an exciting shootout despite the poor stoppage by referee Phil Edwards. Fury, 23, of England, is 6-foot-9, 257 pounds and has gotten way more hype than he deserves, but at least delivers entertaining matches, something we need more of in the heavyweight division. For the third fight in a row, Fury weathered difficult moments en route to a win.
Dereck Chisora hurt him in their July fight and Nicolai Firtha had him in trouble in September. And this time it was Pajkic, 34, a native of Bosnia living in Canada, who had him in trouble. Although he was at a serious size disadvantage (6-3, 232 pounds), Pajkic dropped Fury with right hand on the chin in the second round. Fury has been in trouble before, but this was the first time he has been knocked down. He weathered the crisis and rallied in the third round. He dropped Pajkic with a right hand after softening up with several hard shots. Then Fury had him wobbly again before knocking him with another right hand. But when Fury landed an uppercut after the fight resumed, Edwards immediately jumped in and stopped it at 2 minutes, 43 seconds. Pajkic wildly protested and it is hard to disagree. Lame stoppage.
On the undercard, England's Chris Eubank Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), the son of the former super middleweight titlist, made his professional debut and stopped Lithuania's Kirilas Psonko (8-16-1, 7 KOs) at 1 minute, 46 seconds of the fourth round in a scheduled six-rounder.
Friday at El Paso, Texas
Austin Trout TKO6 Frank LoPorto
Junior middleweight
Retains a junior middleweight title
Records: Trout (24-0, 14 KOs); LoPorto (15-5-2, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remark: This was all about Trout gaining some much-needed American television exposure, which is what he got on Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation." Trout is a good fighter to be sure, but his title is trash. It's one of those bogus WBA "regular" belts in a division where Miguel Cotto also is the so-called "super" titleholder. Trout, 26, of Las Cruces, N.M., won the belt, however, in February in Mexico when he routed Rigoberto Alvarez (the older brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez). Then Trout returned to Mexico for a June defense against David Lopez, whom he also easily outpointed. Those fights were not on American television, but Showtime gave him a platform, even if he was matched very softly against LoPorto, 33, of Australia. It appeared as though Trout's night of exposure might end quickly when he dropped LoPorto with a right hand in the first round, in which he battered him. LoPorto survived and took a beating. He showed heart and little else. Trout, a 2004 U.S. Olympic alternate, who was born in El Paso and had tremendous crowd support, was faster and a better puncher. He just took LoPorto apart until referee Rafael Ramos showed mercy and stopped the annihilation at 2 minutes, 32 seconds of the sixth round. So Trout got his easy showcase fight on television. He fights in a 154-pound division with several quality opponents. Now it's time for him to fight one of them and for the networks to make it happen, since few are rushing to face the relatively unknown and dangerous Trout, who is a fresh face in a rich division.
Michael Oliveira W-DQ8 Xavier Tolliver
Middleweight
Records: Oliveira (16-0, 12 KOs); Tolliver (23-8, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Oliveira, 21, a Brazilian based in Miami, has an action style, probably the reason he's called "The Brazilian Rocky." He found himself facing Tolliver, a 31-year-old journeyman from College Park, Ga., after at least two other opponents dropped out. He proved no match for Oliveira, who was aggressive throughout the fight. Tolliver tried to rough him up in the opening round, but Oliveira showed poise and dealt with a couple of rocky moments. Oliveira got his combinations working and dominated. Tolliver, who took the fight on short notice, was not in the best shape and seemed to try to catch a breather by laying on the ropes. But Oliveira just used that a chance for target practice, bloodying Tolliver's lip in the seventh round. Referee Robert Chapa docked a point from Tolliver for a head-butt in the fifth round and when he ordered a break in the eighth round, Tolliver hit Oliveira with a right hand on the break. Although Chapa had not previously issued a warning for the foul, he disqualified Tolliver at 1 minute, 31 seconds. It was academic because Oliveira was going to win the fight.
Friday at Las Vegas
Diego Magdaleno W10 Emmanuel Lucero
Junior lightweight
Scores: 100-89, 100-88, 100-87
Records: Magdaleno (21-0, 7 KOs); Lucero (26-8-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remark: Magdaleno, 24, was fighting in front of his hometown crowd and never gave them a moment of angst as he rolled through Mexico's Lucero, 34, who was a fringe contender at junior featherweight back in the early '00s. In his most notable fight, Lucero got knocked out in the third round by a young Manny Pacquiao defending his 122-pound title in 2003. But Lucero is beyond faded at this point and the scores showed it as Magdaleno pitched the shutout in the main event of "Top Rank Live." Magdaleno did as he pleased. He pumped the jab, beat Lucero's body, busted open a cut on the bridge of his nose and generally smacked him around, including getting credit for a seventh-round knockdown when he landed a combination that sent Lucero into the ropes, which prevented him from hitting the canvas. Lucero dropped to 3-5 in his past eight fights dating to 2007, after which he did not fight for three years.
Mercito Gesta W10 Ricardo Dominguez
Lightweight
Scores: 99-91, 98-92, 97-92
Records: Gesta (24-0-1, 12 KOs); Dominguez (34-7-2, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remark: The Philippines' Gesta, 23, who lives in San Diego, rolled to an easy win in a ho-hum fight against a decent step up in competition. Gesta has no issues with the slower, less skilled Dominguez, 26, of Mexico. While Dominguez tried to make it a brawl, Gesta controlled him with his jab and displayed quality counterpunching ability. In the third round, Gesta landed a nice right hand and scored a knockdown when Dominguez put his right glove on the mat to steady himself. Dominguez dropped to 3-3 in his past six fights, including losses in two lightweight title bouts, decisions to Humberto Soto in May 2010 and to Miguel Vazquez last November. Gesta has ability and figures to get a notable fight before too long.
aepps20
Supporter
- 41,104
- 86,802
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2004
Not surprised by Arum in the least. Dude wants to bleed Manny for all he's worth.
- 1,807
- 94
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2007
Arum not seeking a fight against Mayweather, scumbag.
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...aide-says-manny-pacquiao-camp-even-talk-fight
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...aide-says-manny-pacquiao-camp-even-talk-fight
- 1,807
- 94
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2007
Arum not seeking a fight against Mayweather, scumbag.
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...aide-says-manny-pacquiao-camp-even-talk-fight
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...aide-says-manny-pacquiao-camp-even-talk-fight
- 1,636
- 14
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2005
Just leaving Vegas. The atmosphere for this fight was great. I'm looking forward to catching the replay next week, because watching the fight in person it seemed like Marquez was dominating. This is my third time going to a manny fight and I've never heard him booed so much. And his reaction after the fight clearly showed he thought he lost. Not sure if they showed it on HBO but many was on someone's shoulders with his head down basically apologizing to his fans.
I *@%%@%% hate Bob Arum but he has done a great job protecting and marketing manny. I hope the general sports media wakes up and starts pressuring Arum and Pacquiao to fight mayweather
I *@%%@%% hate Bob Arum but he has done a great job protecting and marketing manny. I hope the general sports media wakes up and starts pressuring Arum and Pacquiao to fight mayweather
- 1,636
- 14
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2005
Just leaving Vegas. The atmosphere for this fight was great. I'm looking forward to catching the replay next week, because watching the fight in person it seemed like Marquez was dominating. This is my third time going to a manny fight and I've never heard him booed so much. And his reaction after the fight clearly showed he thought he lost. Not sure if they showed it on HBO but many was on someone's shoulders with his head down basically apologizing to his fans.
I *@%%@%% hate Bob Arum but he has done a great job protecting and marketing manny. I hope the general sports media wakes up and starts pressuring Arum and Pacquiao to fight mayweather
I *@%%@%% hate Bob Arum but he has done a great job protecting and marketing manny. I hope the general sports media wakes up and starts pressuring Arum and Pacquiao to fight mayweather
- 339
- 10
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
Just wondering are the nosebleed tickets worth buying at MSG? hows the view from that far away.
- 339
- 10
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
Just wondering are the nosebleed tickets worth buying at MSG? hows the view from that far away.
- 24,717
- 436
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2006
I hate this stupid video that's going around of JMM stepping on Manny's feet, it's so trivial in their situation, and Pacquiao fans running with it like they're the ones that LOST the fight.
- 24,717
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- Joined
- Mar 3, 2006
I hate this stupid video that's going around of JMM stepping on Manny's feet, it's so trivial in their situation, and Pacquiao fans running with it like they're the ones that LOST the fight.
aepps20
Supporter
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QFT
It's a classic southpaw vs orthodox fighting issue. I guess since most of his fans just recently started watching boxing they wouldn't know that.
aepps20
Supporter
- 41,104
- 86,802
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2004
QFT
It's a classic southpaw vs orthodox fighting issue. I guess since most of his fans just recently started watching boxing they wouldn't know that.
- 2,931
- 13
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2005
Pactard's excuses ^^ everyone who watches boxing knows that southpaw's and orthodox fighter always have this problem when fighting each other.
They are shook ladies and gentlemen. They expected to see domination and they didn't. If you go back and look at my posts about Pacquiao I've been saying for years that he's been hand picking opponents (same as Mayweather but with a bigger twist) this is the first time you've seen Manny Pacquiao fight someone who didn't have to deal with catchweights, rehydration clauses, or a shot fighter IE Mosley (rehydration clause) Hatton (shot fighter, no head movement, bully fighter, bad chin) Cotto who we know has a suspect chin at any weight below 154 (shot fighter, catchweight) Margarito (bully fighter, no head movement, catchweight) Diaz (bully fighter, no head movement, shot fighter) Hank Lundy Ko'ed him and he's a prospect (Lundy fought Diaz earlier this year)
Pacquiao doesn't have any type of offense besides the straight left. His jab is a pawing jab and just a range finder to shoot the straight left. If you watch Fight Camp 360 for Mosley vs Pacquiao you'll hear Nazim Richardson hollering "circle right Shane!" "I've solved this dude!" because he already knew what was up. That's why Pacquiao couldn't stop Mosley. When that straight left is netrualized he start leaping in with a right hook that can be seen a mile away. You'll also hear Mosley complaining of blister on his feet which is a clear sign of you guessed it dehydration. In 08 after Mosley demolished Margarito, Mosley went to wild card gym begging to fight Pacquiao. And Freddie Roach said no and took on De La Hoya (shot fighter, over the hill) he even said on YouTube that he didn't want to fight Mosley because "Mosley was no De La Hoya"
Pacquiao, Arum, and Freddie Roach has the casual boxing fans and pactards fooled.
They are shook ladies and gentlemen. They expected to see domination and they didn't. If you go back and look at my posts about Pacquiao I've been saying for years that he's been hand picking opponents (same as Mayweather but with a bigger twist) this is the first time you've seen Manny Pacquiao fight someone who didn't have to deal with catchweights, rehydration clauses, or a shot fighter IE Mosley (rehydration clause) Hatton (shot fighter, no head movement, bully fighter, bad chin) Cotto who we know has a suspect chin at any weight below 154 (shot fighter, catchweight) Margarito (bully fighter, no head movement, catchweight) Diaz (bully fighter, no head movement, shot fighter) Hank Lundy Ko'ed him and he's a prospect (Lundy fought Diaz earlier this year)
Pacquiao doesn't have any type of offense besides the straight left. His jab is a pawing jab and just a range finder to shoot the straight left. If you watch Fight Camp 360 for Mosley vs Pacquiao you'll hear Nazim Richardson hollering "circle right Shane!" "I've solved this dude!" because he already knew what was up. That's why Pacquiao couldn't stop Mosley. When that straight left is netrualized he start leaping in with a right hook that can be seen a mile away. You'll also hear Mosley complaining of blister on his feet which is a clear sign of you guessed it dehydration. In 08 after Mosley demolished Margarito, Mosley went to wild card gym begging to fight Pacquiao. And Freddie Roach said no and took on De La Hoya (shot fighter, over the hill) he even said on YouTube that he didn't want to fight Mosley because "Mosley was no De La Hoya"
Pacquiao, Arum, and Freddie Roach has the casual boxing fans and pactards fooled.
- 2,931
- 13
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2005
Pactard's excuses ^^ everyone who watches boxing knows that southpaw's and orthodox fighter always have this problem when fighting each other.
They are shook ladies and gentlemen. They expected to see domination and they didn't. If you go back and look at my posts about Pacquiao I've been saying for years that he's been hand picking opponents (same as Mayweather but with a bigger twist) this is the first time you've seen Manny Pacquiao fight someone who didn't have to deal with catchweights, rehydration clauses, or a shot fighter IE Mosley (rehydration clause) Hatton (shot fighter, no head movement, bully fighter, bad chin) Cotto who we know has a suspect chin at any weight below 154 (shot fighter, catchweight) Margarito (bully fighter, no head movement, catchweight) Diaz (bully fighter, no head movement, shot fighter) Hank Lundy Ko'ed him and he's a prospect (Lundy fought Diaz earlier this year)
Pacquiao doesn't have any type of offense besides the straight left. His jab is a pawing jab and just a range finder to shoot the straight left. If you watch Fight Camp 360 for Mosley vs Pacquiao you'll hear Nazim Richardson hollering "circle right Shane!" "I've solved this dude!" because he already knew what was up. That's why Pacquiao couldn't stop Mosley. When that straight left is netrualized he start leaping in with a right hook that can be seen a mile away. You'll also hear Mosley complaining of blister on his feet which is a clear sign of you guessed it dehydration. In 08 after Mosley demolished Margarito, Mosley went to wild card gym begging to fight Pacquiao. And Freddie Roach said no and took on De La Hoya (shot fighter, over the hill) he even said on YouTube that he didn't want to fight Mosley because "Mosley was no De La Hoya"
Pacquiao, Arum, and Freddie Roach has the casual boxing fans and pactards fooled.
They are shook ladies and gentlemen. They expected to see domination and they didn't. If you go back and look at my posts about Pacquiao I've been saying for years that he's been hand picking opponents (same as Mayweather but with a bigger twist) this is the first time you've seen Manny Pacquiao fight someone who didn't have to deal with catchweights, rehydration clauses, or a shot fighter IE Mosley (rehydration clause) Hatton (shot fighter, no head movement, bully fighter, bad chin) Cotto who we know has a suspect chin at any weight below 154 (shot fighter, catchweight) Margarito (bully fighter, no head movement, catchweight) Diaz (bully fighter, no head movement, shot fighter) Hank Lundy Ko'ed him and he's a prospect (Lundy fought Diaz earlier this year)
Pacquiao doesn't have any type of offense besides the straight left. His jab is a pawing jab and just a range finder to shoot the straight left. If you watch Fight Camp 360 for Mosley vs Pacquiao you'll hear Nazim Richardson hollering "circle right Shane!" "I've solved this dude!" because he already knew what was up. That's why Pacquiao couldn't stop Mosley. When that straight left is netrualized he start leaping in with a right hook that can be seen a mile away. You'll also hear Mosley complaining of blister on his feet which is a clear sign of you guessed it dehydration. In 08 after Mosley demolished Margarito, Mosley went to wild card gym begging to fight Pacquiao. And Freddie Roach said no and took on De La Hoya (shot fighter, over the hill) he even said on YouTube that he didn't want to fight Mosley because "Mosley was no De La Hoya"
Pacquiao, Arum, and Freddie Roach has the casual boxing fans and pactards fooled.